Juries deadlocked twice in case of officer taped slamming suspect

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LOS ANGELES — After two trials that ended in hung juries, prosecutors dropped brutality charges Friday against a former police officer who was videotaped slamming a handcuffed teenager onto a patrol car.

Prosecutors said they did not believe they could get a unanimous verdict in a third trial for former Inglewood Officer Jeremy Morse.

Superior Court Judge William Hollingsworth Jr. agreed.

“I’m convinced that the chances of reaching a unanimous decision either way is virtually nil. The case is dismissed,” Hollingsworth said.

Last week, a jury deadlocked 6-6. In July, jurors in the first trial deadlocked 7-5 in favor of conviction.

Morse, 26, who is white, was seen on the tape slamming a black teen, Donovan Jackson, onto the trunk of a police car and punching him in the face at a gas station in 2002.

The videotape was shot by a bystander. Although race was never mentioned in the trials, the image of a white officer roughing up a black youth touched off angry protests in Inglewood.